Asia Society and the Council on Foreign Relations host an address and discussion with H.E. Dr. Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 5:15pm EST. The talk will mark one of President Rouhani's first major addresses in the United States since taking office in August.

Asia Society President Josette Sheeran will moderate the discussion with President Rouhani following his address. Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, will introduce President Rouhani.

"At the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in NYC on 24 September, the world’s attention will focus on Hassan Rouhani as he makes his first visit to the United States as Iran’s newly elected President," says Asia Society President Josette Sheeran. “Asia Society has long been a forum for world leaders to make important statements on policy as well as speak candidly about the pressing issues of the day. I am confident President Rouhani’s appearance will be a keystone moment in our attempt to foster progress in U.S.-Asia relations.”

To request interviews with Josette Sheeran on Asia Society's ongoing work across its disciplines or Asia Society Vice President of Global Policy Programs Suzanne DiMaggio on U.S.-Iran relations, contact [email protected] or call 212-327-9271.

H.E. Dr. Hassan Rouhani is the seventh President of Iran. He has been a Representative of the Supreme Leader to the Supreme National Security Council, a Member of the Expediency Council, and a Member of the Assembly of Experts. He held the following positions as a Member of the Majlis (Parliament): Majlis Deputy, Chairman of Majlis Defense Commission, First Deputy Speaker, and Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee.

Josette Sheeran is the seventh president and CEO of Asia Society and is responsible for leading and advancing the organization's work throughout the U.S. and Asia, and across its disciplines of arts and culture, policy and business, and education. Sheeran is former Vice Chair of the World Economic Forum, which hosts the annual Davos and Davos in China gathering of world leaders. Prior to that post, Sheeran was executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2006, and former deputy U.S. trade representative, conducting negotiations across Asia, including with China, Australia, Singapore, India, Korea, and Japan.

Suzanne DiMaggio is Vice President of Global Policy Programs at Asia Society. An expert dialogue practitioner, she leads Asia Society’s Iran Initiative, which includes a Track II component that quietly brings together influential and knowledgeable Americans and Iranians to discuss issues of interest to both countries. As Vice President of Policy Programs at the United Nations Association, she directed a U.S.-Iran Track II dialogue from 2002-2007, which served as one of the few bridges facilitating sustained, face-to-face discussions between Americans and Iranians during that period. She is the author of a chapter on U.S.-Iran Track II diplomacy in "The Iran Primer: Power, Politics and U.S. Policy," which was published by the U.S. Institute of Peace [read the chapter: http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/track-ii-diplomacy. She has visited Iran four times over the past eight years.

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Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.

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